A deep dive down the rabbit hole of our astonishing, non-conceptual experience of what IS.
John Astin is back! He is a health psychologist, meditation teacher, musician, and the author of four books on spiritual practice, including This Extraordinary Moment. His guided meditations can be found on Sam Harris's Waking Up app. He has a Ph.D. in health psychology and is an adjunct professor of clinical and counseling psychology at Santa Clara and Notre Dame de Namur Universities.
Find his books, teachings, and more on his website: https://johnastin.com
Here are all our videos on consciousness, meditation, and awakening: https://bit.ly/3NYbBvx
Timecodes:
0:00 Intro
1:52 What are we? How consciousness identifies with its contents
6:33 The thought/conceptual world vs. the experiential world
11:25 Concepts can’t capture raw experience, quantum physics vs gross reality
16:24 The conceptual world and the spiritual “journey”, the nature of impermanence
23:37 How “long” is NOW?
28:06 What is living truth relative to the thought world, the pragmatic benefit of realization
34:43 Integrating absolute realization into daily life
41:09 Mind reduces infinity to finite and a sense of lack, non-duality
44:47 Coming off retreat and “reintegrating”, the “commentary” of thought consciousness
52:31 What IS anxiety experientially?
57:04 Conceptual thought world removes “magic” from experience
59:30 The power of attention and discernment in inquiring into experience
1:06:20 The apparent spiritual “journey”
1:10:38 Awakening and realization over time
1:12:52 We are wired to seek enjoyment
1:19:48 The radiant beauty of everything regardless of mental labels, what is art?
1:29:37 The miracle of what IS
1:40:17 A guided meditation/inquiry on presence: intro
1:42:19 Guided meditation on presence
Hanging in a traditional Japanese (traditional) machiya house, very roomy (by hotel room comparison), traditional futon beds, pour coffee. A super cool experience! Even sporting the Z-Merch! (pics in comments)
From Sunday Zen on YouTube! Enjoy ❤️
Let's dive deep into the themes of trust, surrender, and the Threads of Awakening model introduced by Dr. Pierce Salguero in this live episode of Sunday Zen.
I've been reflecting on how traditional spiritual models can leave us feeling lost, stuck, or even scared, and how Pierce's approach offers a more inclusive framework that resonates with my own experiences.
We share insights on the different threads—emptiness, energy, unity, and psyche—and how they manifest in our lives. We discuss the challenges of spiritual ego, which I've grappled with myself, and discuss the role of psychedelics in opening new pathways of understanding. And we touch on the importance of embracing the unknown as the true entry point to the nature of reality.
Topics covered include:
The Threads of Awakening model and its impact
Trust and surrender in the spiritual journey
Navigating spiritual ego and its pitfalls
Psychedelics as tools
Embracing the unknown and the ...
Today's interview with legendary vaccine researcher Paul Offit. Video version coming shortly!
2 things on my mind - plurality - that's one of them. I watched a webinar for work - it was supposed to be on AI in real estate and yet somehow the idea of us living in a plurality is what has really stuck with me. It's so much better than just seeing division. Made me happy so I bring it here. Plurality. The second is my yoga class tonight - our instructor likes to have a theme and tonight it was Santosha - acceptance, gratitude for what you have and what you can do. She said she'd previously done the class for some healthcare workers and got scared they were going to lynch her 😜
